Dave Ball, one half of the groundbreaking 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the team achieved a global success with their cover of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in 1984, and their first record Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a seminal work of electronic music.
He subsequently formed the pioneering electronic act The Grid, who secured popular acclaim with 1994's Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away peacefully in his sleep at his residence in London on Wednesday 22 October, just weeks after playing a featured performance with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Health Struggles
At that performance, Ball appeared in a wheelchair, as he had for the last two years, after a spate of health issues.
"I managed to damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I broke lower vertebrae in my back and cracked about five ribs and broke my wrist."
After catching a lung infection and suffering from sepsis, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in hospital for half a year.
Nevertheless, he had been in "a great place mentally" during the summer, as he worked on a new album with Almond, titled Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication next year.
"He was focused and so happy with the new album that we actually completed only a short time ago," stated the singer in a heartfelt message.
"It's truly heartbreaking as 2026 was completely planned to be such an positive year for him, and I find comfort from the fact that he heard the completed album and felt that it was a great piece of work."
Heartfelt Messages
Almond referred to his collaborator as "a wonderfully brilliant musical genius", stating: "He was the core essence of Soft Cell and I'm very proud of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my life and for the music you created with me. I wouldn't be where I am without you."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, shared his condolences, recalling Ball's "endless laughter" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from joining a group, the connection is very tight," he added.
"That's how it was with us. We experienced so many remarkable, incredible, life-affirming experiences together. Many thanks, Dave."
Early Life
Born into a single-parent household in the city of Chester in the late 50s, Ball was put up for adoption when he was 18 months old.
He was raised in Blackpool with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who changed his given name from Paul to David, alongside his younger sister Susan, who was also adopted.
He met Almond at an art college in the late 70s, where they were both studying art. Inspired by a shared love of a music genre, they formed Soft Cell the very year, and quickly produced an EP.
Creative Collaboration
The pair were an distinctive pairing: Ball was the reserved musician, hunched over his keyboard, while Almond was a flamboyant performer, all sparkle and eye-liner; but they attained a rare musical alchemy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with synthesizers after watching the band Kraftwerk perform on BBC science show a popular series, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the soaring melodies Almond was writing.
Their signature song became the UK's second biggest-selling song of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Alongside successful tracks by other artists, Human League and Ultravox, it contributed to paved the way for the electronic music style of the 80s.
The track was also included on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further top five hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They followed the album up with the separate release, Torch, which peaked at number two in 1982.
Professional Journey
Fame had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and exploring, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball not long ago told with a music magazine.
But it also presented challenges. "Newfound wealth allowed we could purchase newfound drugs to alleviate the monotony" of media interviews and television shows, Ball said.
"I realize that's a cliché, but it's a truism for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the party-filled existence, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a follow-up memorable record - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out another album, 1984's This Last Night In Sodom, before dissolving the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond proceeded to have a prosperous solo career, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball created The Grid, who mixed dance music with melodic sounds over a enduring collaboration.
Later Work and Comebacks
Soft Cell reunited in 2001, producing the charting album Cruelty Without Beauty.
After another hiatus, they reappeared in 2018, issuing the original singles Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before performing what was supposed to be a farewell show at the large venue on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they stayed active, recording their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic Covid lockdown.
Ball lately characterized the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while making their first two albums.
He noted that his period in hospital had shaped the group's music.
"I had unusual memories when I was coming and going of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a music magazine.
"Our latest tracks are a electronic representation of the sounds in my head from those days.
"Simultaneously, it's about the times we got up to in the 1980s."
The final mixes were finished only days before Ball passed away. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
